


Romance By The Light Of An Agni Kai

by phlintandsteel



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-02
Updated: 2019-01-02
Packaged: 2019-10-02 11:44:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,688
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17263598
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/phlintandsteel/pseuds/phlintandsteel
Summary: For the prompt from 27Dragons:In honor of Tumblr going down in flames AND the holiday season, a sentence prompt: "Firelight is supposed to be romantic."





	Romance By The Light Of An Agni Kai

**Author's Note:**

  * For [27dragons](https://archiveofourown.org/users/27dragons/gifts).



> When I read this prompt, my mind immediately went to ways to have everything on fire around them. Sorry it’s kind of short, but I didn’t want to detract from the impact by dragging the scene out too much… (Jesus, I hope you’re an ATLAB fan, if not, I apologize)

“What?  Are you crazy?  You’re playing right into his hands, this is exactly what he wants, to split us up!  He knows he can’t take both of us together,” Bucky hisses, looking at Tony in disbelief.  

 

“I know.  But I can take him this time.”

 

“But even you yourself admitted to your Uncle Jarvis that you'd need help to take Obadiah down,” Bucky reminds him, because apparently, this morning was a long time ago...

 

“No.  There’s something off about him today.  I can’t explain it, but, he’s slipping.  I can take him,” Tony says, eyeing Obadiah seriously.  His normally well groomed facial hair is missing in places, and his eyes have a crazed, glassy look to them.  “Plus, this way, no one else has to get hurt,” Tony says, giving Bucky a knowing look.

 

Bucky gives him a nod of agreement, even though he’s reluctant.  He knows this really is Tony’s fight, but…  Why does he have to have all these damn self-sacrificing idiots in his life?  

 

The fire sages clear out, leaving the courtyard of the palace open for the battle.  Bucky would bet they’re watching from their secret nooks and crannies though, waiting to see who the new Firelord is really going to be.

 

Obadiah pops the button on his cape, making an odd, swishing motion to get it off that’s probably supposed to be a flourish, but just makes him look deranged.  

 

“I’m sorry it has to end this way, brother,” he says, flashing his too-white teeth at Tony.

 

“No you’re not,” Tony scoffs, taking his stance.

 

Obadiah smirks, not waiting for any of the traditional starting indicators from the sages.  He simply levels a volley of blue fire at Tony that would destroy a small house.

 

Tony counters it immediately with his own blast, their sustained flames meeting in the middle of the courtyard and creating a burst of fire that bathes half the surrounding palace in blue light, half in red.  Obadiah stays on the offensive though, stalking closer with each blast of flames, pushing forward with the force of his rage, pushing Tony back a little even as he’s blocking the attacks.

 

The stream of Tony’s fire holds up though, with some even blasting past Obadiah and lighting the steps behind him on fire.  In a normal agni kai, that would be a point against Obadiah, and he does not take the knowledge with aplomb.

 

Bucky can see the insanity of his rage reflected in his eyes, even from his spot across the courtyard.  It sends a shudder down his spine.  “You can do this, Tony… You have to,” Bucky whispers to himself as their fight continues to intensify.  

 

Obadiah takes a running leap, wielding a rope of fire thicker across than the span of a man, and hurtling it downward in a whip like motion at Tony.  Bucky doesn’t see the exact form Tony takes, but the line of blue fire breaks like water over his own red hued defense, parting half on each side of him.  He remains untouched in the middle.

 

There are several spots burning around them now, though Bucky doesn’t know enough about the more complex rules to know who would get points for that.  All he knows is that Obadiah is breathing a little heavily afterward, and he does _not_ look pleased.  

 

And that’s when Tony finally goes on the offensive.  

 

Twin flames erupt from his fist, circling each other in a twisting motion as they head for Obadiah, the heads of each looking like a dragon in shape _and_ size.  

 

There’s a flash of fear in Obadiah’s eyes as he jumps out of the way.  

 

Almost as if to make up for his brief retreat, Obadiah lets flames burst underneath him from his feet, flying at Tony while firing shot after shot from his fists.  Tony jumps into the air with a little flame-assist himself, countering and dodging with the same acrobatic finesse all his hand-to-hand combat displays.

 

Bucky may be a little biased, but to him it’s obvious that Tony is staying calm and focused, while Obadiah is starting to look desperate.  

 

With a snarl, Obadiah puts more power into his propulsion, circling Tony and taking pot shots at him while Tony defends the 360 degrees around him.  Only a few shots in though, Tony realizes it’s an unsustainable position, and starts firing back.

 

“Aim for where he’s going to be, not for where he _is_ ,” Bucky mutters as three of Tony’s shots fall short in a row.  

 

Tony flips over onto his back in some sort of complex spin with his feet that looks wild, but Bucky can see the insane amount of control it would require.  Red flames erupt in a perfect circle around him, surging outward and knocking Obadiah off his feet.

 

“Or do that.  That works too,” Bucky says to himself, his jaw hanging slightly open.  

 

Obadiah lands in a rolling sprawl on the stone pavers.

 

In contrast to the haughty grace he normally carries himself with, it takes a few jerking motions for him to get back onto his feet.  Bucky can’t tell from this distance if he’s breathing heavily or if he’s just making a disgusted growl in Tony’s direction.

 

“No lightning today, Obi?  What’s the matter, afraid I’ll redirect it?” Tony says, taking a moment to form up his stance while Obadiah is standing.  It might seem a little boastful, but after successfully redirecting the lightning strike Howard sent at him before, he feels like he has a right to it.  

 

“Be careful what you wish for, Tony,” Obadiah says, his hands cycling through the motions to make electricity spark from them.  Jolts of blue sizzle in the air around him, almost as if he’s taking a moment to stall with the display.

 

Bucky rolls his eyes at the grandstanding.

 

He should have known better.  

 

In the split second that he takes his eyes off the battlefield, Obadiah’s eyes dart over to him on the sidelines.  

 

Tony, calmly waiting for the attack to be leveled at him, has less than a fraction of a second to react to the illegal target.  Thankfully he’s always been a quick thinker.  He throws himself to the side, taking the hit meant for Bucky without hesitation.  He’s pretty sure he hears Bucky scream, “No!” behind him as his vision blues out.  

 

It’s like slow motion for Bucky, watching Tony’s body be encompassed by the lightning, and then fall to the ground.  The massive blue bolt discharges from him into the atmosphere through his chest, which is pretty much a death sentence.  

 

“Tony!”

 

Bucky has a healing balm of water coating his hands and is running toward him before he even realizes what he’s doing.  A blast of lightning hitting the ground right in front of him stops his progress though.

 

Right, so they’re doing this now.  Ok.

 

Tony, whose body is still convulsing a little and giving off sparks of blue electricity, manages to roll himself over on the ground, which lets Bucky know he’s still alive.  Bucky doges another bolt as Obadiah cackles maniacally, using flames under his feet to jump onto one of the nearby palace roofs.

 

“I’d _really_ rather the family physician looked after our little Tones,” Obadiah says, smirking from the high ground.  He directs another series of strikes toward Bucky, which Bucky only just manages to get away from.

 

“Yeah, fuck this shit,” Bucky growls, spinning around to face Obadiah.  He knows Tony doesn’t have long, not with the massive amount of damage he just took.  They don’t have time to play high stakes hide and seek right now.  Which is probably exactly what Obadiah is trying to do by attacking Bucky, keep him occupied until Tony runs out of time.  

 

Bucky reaches forward, with his hands and with his waterbending, crooking his fingers in a downward motion.  

 

Obadiah’s body goes stiff, his arms and legs snapping straight to his sides.  

 

“You...filthy, _peasant…_ ” he manages to croak out, glaring at Bucky even while under his control.  Then Obadiah also loses balance on the roof, so Bucky just picks him up entirely with his bending.  He sets the man down in the courtyard right in front of him, then socks him in the face as hard as he can.  One good thing about Stevie dating a Kyoshi warrior is that Peggy was kind enough to teach all of them how to knock a man out with one punch.  

 

Obadiah crumples to the ground.

 

Bucky rushes over to Tony, dropping to his knees and bringing the healing water to his hands immediately.  Tony is still alive, but his breathing is short and shallow, and he’s giving off tiny pained sounds like they’re all he can make.  

 

Bucky envelopes him in a very different blue glow, concentrating on his heart and the damage there.  

 

Tony gasps, then relaxes as the healing takes effect, his eyes drooping in relief.  He's still going to have one hell of a scar on his chest, but he'll live.

 

“Thank you, Bucky,” he says sincerely.

 

“I think I’m the one who should be thanking you, you idiot,” Bucky says, tears gathering in his eyes.  He helps pull Tony up into a sitting position.  In the same motion, Tony leans up and kisses him, cupping Bucky’s cheek and everything.  Bucky melts into it, but he’s still the first to pull back from it, even so.

 

“As much as I enjoyed that,” he says, to make sure Tony knows he didn’t make the wrong move, “This isn’t exactly the time or place, Tony…”

 

“What?  Firelight is supposed to be romantic,” Tony says, waving at the flames still burning all around them.

 

“I think you’re thinking of candlelight,” Bucky counters.  

 

“Hmm, maybe…  I’m sure we have some candles or something in the palace though,” Tony points out.  

 

“Maybe we should put the flames of the palace _out_ , then worry about finding candles later,” Bucky suggests.  

 

“One more kiss first?” Tony asks, still half laying in Bucky’s arms.

 

“...Ok, fine.  Just one more,” Bucky says, leaning in with a fond expression.

 

“My hero," Tony grins.

 

  
  
  
The End.


End file.
